"We are gathered here on this day to say farewell to Luna Cassidy Vitali."
I fumble with my lace at the bottom of my black dress as tears effortlessly stream down my face.
"In the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit," The priest crosses himself. "Jesus Christ, our Savior, shall raise you up on the last day."
As I look I see my mother, father and brother sniffling, and to the left Lunas, brother Cairo has tears in his eyes threatening to spill out.
"Cassie." But I ignore it, "Cassie." I look to see Cairo nudging me.
It was time to read the eulogy.
It took days of crumpled papers and broken pencils, to finally get out what I needed to say. I had it all typed out neatly it was ready to be read, but I would never be ready to say it aloud.
As I walk swiftly up to the podium a cool gust of wind follows me up the steps. I clear my throat before I begin, "Ladies & Gentleman," I try not to make any specific eye contact. "Firstly I want to say thank you all for being here today. It took me a long time to figure out what to say" I let out a shaky breath, feeling my shoulders becoming lighter tapping my fingers on the podium nervously.
"Luna was my best friend she was always so happy and excited about life. I loved her so much and I-"
I can't finish my sentence, I know that if I do it will end in a pool of tears. "I don't want to talk about the tragedy of losing her, so I'll talk about what it was like to have had her for the time we were given. She was like this beam of light that never burned out," I smile thinking about her smile, she always knew how to lighten up a dull moment.
"Her name meaning moon always fit her personality, the moon is a loyal companion, as was she. It never leaves. It's always there, knowing us in our light and dark moments, changing forever just as we do. Every day it's a different version of itself. Sometimes weak and wan, sometimes strong and full of light." You're almost done, just breathe I tell myself.
"And that was Luna she saw my light and dark moments. She was always there for me and I am eternally grateful." I feel the weight lifted off my shoulders as I feel more relaxed.
"That's all I can say right now without breaking down into tears. Luna would kill me if I ruined my makeup." I let out an emotionless laugh earning the same from friends and family,"I love you and miss you Luna. You will always be in my heart, I love you most, forever and always" I wipe away my tears as I stepped down and sat back in my seat letting the priest wrap up.
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"Cassandra, sweetie we're home." My fathers gentle voice shakes me from my deep sleep.
It takes me a minute to recover from my sleepily state.
I walk like a zombie out of the car all the way up to my room. My dog Missy asks for attention but I ignore her.
All I want to do right now is sleep.
When I walk by the mirror I have to do a double take. When I look the girl I see isn't the girl everyone knew and loved.
No, the girl in this mirror is a tall, sleek girl, with hair that falls just above her shoulders, knotted and messy.
Above her dark brown eyes lies a perfect set of full eyebrows. Below her eyes are a pair of dark circles giving away her lack of sleep.
Her rounded face sits atop her shoulders with an emotionless expression. The girl who everyone knew, always had sleek and smooth hair and a smile upon her face.
I had a feeling no one would see that girl for quite a while.
I stare at my Virginia State University acceptation letter that's sat there since Luna went missing. We were supposed to go together it was her dream. I can't think about that right now.
I look next to my letter and I see my favorite picture of Luna and I. We were sitting in Luna's grandma's garden. Sun shining, eyes closed, heads back in laughter. We looked so happy. I was wearing my favorite baby blue dress I wore at Luna's father's wedding, Luna wearing her lavender dress that I had picked out for her. She looked so beautiful. Tears unknowingly slip from my eyes.
"Cassie do you need anything? Some water?" My mother knocked twice softly on the door.
I slowly shake my head. I can feel the sting in my eyes. If I speak I will cry.
My concerned mother asks if I want to talk. I'm quivering, unable to speak, I know my face is streaked with tears.
"It hurts so much." I reach out for my mom, who immediately responds.
"Oh sweetie I know, I know. It's gonna hurt and it's never gonna go away but it will heal with time. Losing your best friend is one of the hardest things you'll have to go through. Just take your time. Everything's going to be okay in the long run. Now you rest okay?"
I just nod and curl up in my blankets and instantly drift off into a deep, much needed sleep.
Luna was my best friend. Always there for me and always encouraging me.
For a nineteen year old girl Luna had an old soul.
Luna went missing on a Saturday night, it was her birthday party and after a couple hours she got bored and told me she was going to head out. I asked her if she wanted company and she said she would be fine. She drove home, her car was there keys in the ignition doors unlocked,but she wasn't anywhere to be seen. She was just gone. There were search parties for weeks, people began to lose hope but I never did. I didn't know when the right time was to let go, maybe after 2 months? Or maybe after they found her blood on the rocks by the bay. I never lost hope, until now.
We've been best friends since first grade. We were at recess and I had never been on a slide-because they are dangerous and whatnot- so she just pushed me down the slide to face my fear. I cried, she called me a baby, I hit her.. we bonded.
We were inseparable.
Luna was always more adventurous than me. If it wasn't for Luna, I would have never stayed out passed my curfew, never eaten fast food or done anything out of the ordinary, for me anyway. When we would do something adventurous or something to face my fears we had this thing we would say, we would say on the count of two instead of three. It was a weird thing, but it was our thing. One could say we were soul mates, meant to be with each other. With that I would definitely agree.
